Secretariat

The movie night at the church was a fascinating revelation of differences in culture and people's ability to experience life on different levels. I loved this movie. I loved the story. I thought the people of Haiti would love it too. I was right and wrong, they didn't just love the movie, they went into it.  A horse race run over 35 years ago ran again Sunday night, complete with cheering, stomping, and outright screaming! It was thunderous. I'm not sure how many people were here, but it had to be between five and six hundred. I love the way Haitians are capable of celebrating life, of championing a moment, of relishing the joy and extracting the delight found in the simplest of things. I have become hardened to the majesty of the moments in my life. My culture has demanded polish and focused behavior, etiquette  above excitement, restraint in rejoicing. These are not necessarily bad things, but sometimes it brings distortion to our reality. As the horses hooves pounded down the track and the drama unfolded, I found myself transported to a different place and time, it was moving beyond words. The force of nature, the power of the human spirit, the high drama of hope and promise captured on a movie screen were absorbed into a bleak place of minimal hope, and swallowed by parched souls ready and expectant for greatness. These people continue to shatter my misconceptions and false senses of security found in my routines and my expectations birthed by the surreal world in which I live. At first I understood that their world was surreal, but then I discovered that my own is. We take things for granted that we should not, we focus on the wrong things at the wrong time, we cherish the trivial above true treasures. Haiti has brought a more central understanding for me, helped me purge out the dross of vain thought, and grasp with a greater clarity what it is exactly we are here for, how quickly time and circumstance can change, and to seize better what is right in front of me! Let us strive to be in the moment, to cherish the real, to love without abandoned. The seasons of time are sweeping by, let's not miss it by being somewhere else. Blessing always.